They were nearly upon the cabin. “Hey, Alvin, it’s me, Grant.”
Alvin? She didn’t recall anyone on the posse with that name. The door opened. Her eyes widened. Grant’s brother! The angry one from the store. Tremors crawled up her spine. What was going on?
Alvin seemed just as surprised as Ellie. “What’s going on, Grant? Why are you here? Did you get word from James Hill?”
Grant pushed his way inside, Ellie in tow. “No, I joined the posse that’s looking for you so I could get to you first. You know you don’t have Louis Hill, right?”
Ellie looked from Grant to the other man, trying to follow the rapid-fire conversation. Where was Carter? The rest of the tracking group?
“He keeps telling me he’s not Hill. I thought he was lying to fool us.”
Ellie looked around the cabin and saw a man tied to a chair. No, not just a man ...
“Father!” She yanked her arm free from Grant’s grip and rushed to his side. “Are you all right? Why haven’t they cut you loose yet?”
Her father moaned. “Oh, Ellie, how did they capture you too?”
Capture her? There was a bandage on the side of hishead. Perhaps the blow he’d sustained had left him confused.
Enough!Father needed to lie down. She went to work on the ropes, but Grant came and took hold of her, pulling her away.
She spun on him.“Whatis happening here? My father is injured. Why are you stopping me?”
Grant’s gaze hardened. “Because you’re our prisoner now.”
Prisoner? Had they all gone mad?
“Why did you bring her here?” Alvin sounded, and looked, furious.
Grant shook his head and pulled Ellie to a chair. “Sit there and be quiet.” He grabbed a piece of rope hanging on the wall and came back to her chair. He wrapped it around her midsection and the chair.
“No! What are you doing?” Ellie grabbed at the offending rope and tried to slip out of it—
And saw stars.
Someone had struck her! In the face!
“No! Leave her alone!” Father’s weakened voice came to her as she tried to blink away the stars. When her vision cleared, Alvin stood in front of her, ready to strike her again.
Grant grabbed his arm and shoved him away. “There’s no need for that.” His words to his brother were low and ominous. He turned to Ellie, and his eyes locked onto hers.“Isthere?”
She swallowed hard and managed a small shake of her head, which sent it pounding. She put a hand to her aching face. “Why are you doing this?” She fought against the ropestightening around her wrists, flailing her legs, rocking the chair from side to side. “Let me go!”
“Alvin, grab her legs!” Grant glared at his brother. “But don’t hurt her.”
The bulky man caught her ankles in his strong grip and pushed until her legs met those of the chair.
Grant secured her to the chair and stepped back to face his brother. “I came by this way earlier and saw you out getting wood. Without a mask.” He looked at Father. “So your prisoner knows what you look like.”
Alvin stiffened. “So what?”
“I brought the woman here for a little more insurance. As soon as the posse knows she’s been taken, they won’t be so inclined to come shooting their way in.”
Grant’s brother eyed her, then turned away. “The posse will never find us.”
“Of course they will!”
The desperation in Grant’s voice sent a chill through her. Desperate men did awful things.
